Rhino killed as poaching attempts increase amid India virus lockdown

A rare one-horned rhino has been killed as poaching attempts increase in one of India’s best-known national parks during the coronavirus lockdown, officials said Sunday.

The lack of vehicles on the highway near Kaziranga National Park in Assam state — home to the world’s biggest population of one-horned rhinos — amid the lockdown has seen animals move towards the boundaries, making them vulnerable to poachers.

“It is suspected that the rhino was killed at least two to three days ago,” the park’s director P. Sivakumar told AFP, adding that the rhino’s horn was also missing.

Hunters can earn as much as $150,000 for one rhino horn or around $60,000 per kilo on a black market according to media reports, serving foreign demand for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.